Floating bicycle.



P. KRAEMER.

FLOATING BICYCLE.

APPLICATION FILED DEC.28. I916- 1, 24,653, Patented May 1, 1917.

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P. KRAYEMER.

FLOATING BICYCLE.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 28. I916.

1.2%,653 Patented May1,1917.

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PAUL KBAEMER, OF JERSEY CITY, NEW JERSEY.

FLOATING BICYCLE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 1, 191?.

Application filed December 28, 1916. Serial No. 139,245.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, PAUL KRAEMER, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Jersey City, in the county of Hudson and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements 1n Floating Bicycles, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to means whereby a person may be supported and propel himself in water, and the main object is to provide such means which insure that the greater part of the body of a user will be beneath the surface of the water; a further object is to construct the device in the general form of a bicycle, and propelling means,

similar to a bicycle, are provided; a further object is to provide such a device which may be readily guided in any desired direction; a further object is to provide a plurality of floats from which a suitable frame depends, and upon which frame the propelling and steering mechanism are mounted, as well as the seat for the user of the device; a further objectis to provide such a device which is adapted for the use of more than one person; a further object is to provide a guard for the operating parts of my device, and which guard also serves as a means for supporting the device in vertical position on land; and further objects are to provide such devices which are simple in construction and use, which may be used for the saving of persons from drowning, which furnish great sport not alone for the users but also for spectators, which may be employed in speed contests, which permit a user to remain cool on a warm day by reason of his almost entire immersion, which possess great stability and strength, and which are comparatively inexpensive.

My invention is fully described in the following specification, of which the accompanying drawings form a part, in which the separate parts are designated by the same reference characters in each of the views, and in which Figure 1 is a side elevation of one form of my invention, ready for use;

Fig. 2 is a front elevation thereof; and

Fig. 3 is a View similar to Fig. 1 but showing the device adapted for two users.

In the drawings forming a part of this application I have shown a device of the class described comprising, in the form shown in Fig. 1, two floats 5 and 6, of which the former is the smaller, for a reason later set forth, and a frame 7 formed of a rod or tube bent into the form of a yoke and having its upper ends connected with corresponding floats by means of straps or bands 8 and 9, respectively, said frame being at the centers of said floats as clearly shown in Fig. 2, and it will be seen that said frame is maintained in stable position by reason of its dependent connection with said floats.

The frame 7 carries a seat 10 connected, preferably, with the rearward, upwardly directed, portion thereof, and said frame also has a rudder l1 hinged thereto at 12 and supported by means of an extension 13, said rudder having a post 14; which carries two arms 15 and 16 serving as handle bars for steering the device.

The frame 7 is also provided with downwardly and outwardly directed leg members 17 and to which are secured side guards 18 shaped similar to a sled runner and serving also to maintain the frame and floats in vertical position on a solid support, as on land, and said frame 7 also carries a shaft 19 in suitable hangers 20 and which shaft is provided with a propeller 21 of any desired form.

Secured to the forward end of the shaft 19 is a bevel pinion 22 enmeshed with a bevel gear 23 carried by a crank-shaft 24 in suitable bearings 25 connected with the frame 7, and the crankshaft is provided with oppositely disposed pedals 26 and 27 of the form common in bicycles, and it will be seen that a person may seat himself in the frame 7 and propel and steer himself at will, the floats being made of such buoyance as to maintain his head, shoulders, and arms above the surface of the water and, because of the position of the seat 10, the float 6 is necessarily of greater capacity than the float 5, the two being usually of from eight to ten gallons capacity and watertight, as will be understood, and I also employ brace members 28 and 29 for rendering the frame more rigid.

In Fig. 3 I have shown the device adapted for two persons, a supplemental frame upright 30 being provided for a seat 31 and, preferably, for another float not shown, and in this form the crank-shaft 24- carries a sprocket 32 which is connected, by means of a chain 33, with another sprocket 34 on a supplemental crank-shaft 35 provided with pedals 36 and 37, whereby both users may jointly propel the device and, while only two seats are shown, I may provide as many or as few as may be found desirable.

It will be seen that the floats maintain a user of my device in vertical position, with only his head and shoulders above the surface of the water; that he may propel himself at fairly high speed, and that he may steer the device in desired directions and, inasmuch as the device itself is almost entirely submerged, rough water has but little effect thereon, or on the user, and it is thus adapted for life-saving stations, particularly at bathing beaches, but I do not limit myself to any specific use, as will be obvious.

I am well aware that so called water bicycles have been invented, but in all of which I have any knowledge the user is above the water, and the frame of the device is supported by floats, whereas in my device the frame is suspended from the floats and the user is almost entirely submerged, neither the intent, manner of use, nor construction of my device resembling the devices known to me.

While I have shown a specific form of construction, I do not desire to confine myself thereto, as many changes thereover may suggest themselves and still be within the scope of the following claims and, with a reservation to myself of all such changes, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A device of the class described including front and rear floats, a frame to the top of which at the front and rear thereof, the floats are secured, so that the frame is in the form of a drop frame suspended from and by the floats when in the water, a seat .on said frame below the floats, and propelling and steering means carried by the said frame.

2. A device of the class described including front and rear floats, the rear float be ing the larger, a frame to the top of which at the front and rear the floats are secured, so that the said frame is in the form of a drop frame suspended from and by the floats, a seat on said frame below the floats and nearer to the rear float, and propelling and steering means carried by said float.

3. A device of the class described, comprising a plurality of floats, a frame dependent therefrom, a seat on said frame, propelling means, steering means, and a guard for said propelling and said steering means.

4:. A device of the class described, comprising a plurality of floats, a frame dependent therefrom, a seat on said frame, propelling means, steering means, and a guard for said propelling and steering means, said guard being formed to maintain said device in vertical position on land.

5. A device of the class described including a U-shaped frame, presenting upwardly extending front and rear members united by a longitudinal depressed member, floats on the upwardly extending members at the upper ends thereof, a seat on the rearmost upwardly extending member below the float, steering means on the front upwardly extending member, and propelling means beneath the longitudinal member of the frame.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in. the presence of the subscribing witnesses.

PAUL KRAEMER.

WVitnesses:

BENJ. C. PARSI-IALL, EUGENE P. KRAEMER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for live cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patent:,

Washington, D. G. 

